# Athletics at the 1981 Bolivarian Games

Athletics competitions at the 1981 Bolivarian Games were held in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, between December 4–14, 1981.
A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 was published in a book written (in Spanish) by José Gamarra Zorrilla, former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, and first president (1976-1982) of ODESUR. Gold medal winners from Ecuador were published by the Comité Olímpico Ecuatoriano.
A total of 38 events were contested, 23 by men and 15 by women.

## Medal summary

Medal winners were published.

### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Alfonso Pitters (PAN) | 10.81 | Hipólito Brown (VEN) | 10.84 | Florencio Aguilar (PAN) | 10.87 |
| 200 metres (wind: 3.0 m/s) | Héctor Daley (PAN) | 21.01 w | Alfonso Pitters (PAN) | 21.13 w | Florencio Aguilar (PAN) | 21.24 w |
| 400 metres | Héctor Daley (PAN) | 45.78 | Ramón Reyes (VEN) | 48.97 | Erick Phillips (VEN) | 47.31 |
| 800 metres | Ángel Román (VEN) | 1:50.11 | Gonzalo Huggins (VEN) | 1:50.14 | Luis Romero Lizardi (VEN) | 1:50.48 |
| 1500 metres | Gonzalo Huggins (VEN) | 3:45.54 | Sidro Aular (VEN) | 3:46.92 | Jacinto Navarrete (COL) | 3:48.94 |
| 5000 metres | Silvio Salazar (COL) | 14:13.93 | Jacinto Navarrete (COL) | 14:19.86 | José Zapata (VEN) | 14:21.81 |
| 10000 metres | Silvio Salazar (COL) | 29:41.99 | Luis Tipán (ECU) | 30:09.93 | Jesús Zapata (VEN) | 30:39.89 |
| Marathon | Eduardo Castellanos (VEN) | 2:23:07 | Otoniel Atehortua (COL) | 2:24:08 | Luis Camacho (ECU) | 2:24:53 |
| 110 metres hurdles | Nelson Rodríguez (VEN) | 14.42 | Elvis Cedeño (VEN) | 14.49 | Roberto Gonzáles (PER) | 14.91 |
| 400 metres hurdles | José Davis (VEN) | 52.28 | Jesús Betancourt (COL) | 52.65 | Ricardo Diojo (COL) | 53.01 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Lucirio Garrido (VEN) | 9:01.81 | Johnny Pérez (BOL) | 9:02.90 | Regino Munello (VEN) | 9:17.73 |
| 4 x 100 metres relay | Panama Alfonso Pitters Héctor Daley Fernando Ramsey Florencio Aguilar | 40.21 | Venezuela Anibal Vallenilla Ángel Andrade José Chacín J. Anton | 40.46 | Colombia Jesús Betancourt Fabio García F. Valois Manuel Ramírez | 41.35 |
| 4 x 400 metres relay | Venezuela Erick Phillips M. Ulacio Oswaldo Zea Ramón Reyes | 3:08.50 | Colombia F. Valois Jesús Betancourt Gabriel Loperas Manuel Ramírez | 3:13.22 | Peru José Luis Valverde A. Bassi Roberto Gonzales Moisés del Castillo | 3:22.66 |
| 20 Kilometres Road Walk | Querubín Moreno (COL) | 1:37:56 | Héctor Moreno (COL) | 1:38:07 | Mario Rodríguez (PAN) | 1:41:15 |
| High Jump | Oscar Orta (VEN) | 2.08 | Flavio Figueroa (COL) | 2.03 | Roberto Salazar (VEN) | 2.00 |
| Pole Vault | Carlos Faneit (VEN) | 4.50 | Manuel Fuentes (VEN) | 4.40 | Freddy Aberdeen (VEN) | 3.90 |
| Long Jump | Oswaldo Torres (VEN) | 7.42 | | | Henry Pastorelli (PER) | 7.07 |
| Triple Jump | Esteban Copland (VEN) | 14.87 | Juan Marcovich (PER) | 14.77 | Flavio Figueroa (COL) | 14.68 |
| Shot Put | William Romero (VEN) | 15.58 | José Carreño (VEN) | 15.33 | Wilfredo Jaimes (VEN) | 14.50 |
| Discus Throw | Luis Palacios (VEN) | 49.38 | Wilfredo Jaimes (VEN) | 47.70 | Douglas Fernández (VEN) | 46.32 |
| Hammer Throw | Edgar Yarce (COL) | 54.10 | Raúl Ramón (ECU) | 51.72 | Rafael Aranaga (VEN) | 51.12 |
| Javelin Throw | Eustacio de León (PAN) | 71.06 | Luis Lucumí (COL) | 70.22 | Douglas Fernández (VEN) | 68.28 |
| Decathlon | Freddy Aberdeen (VEN) | 6743 | Juan Ríos (VEN) | 6620 | Félix Marrubo (COL) | 6298 |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres (wind: 2.4 m/s) | Carmela Bolívar (PER) | 11.91 w | Martha Meléndez (COL) | 12.31 w | Nancy Guevara (VEN) | 12.33 w |
| 200 metres | Eucaris Caicedo (COL) | 24.10 | Carmela Bolívar (PER) | 24.59 | Ángela Mancilla (COL) | 24.66 |
| 400 metres | Eucaris Caicedo (COL) | 53.64 | Florencia Chilberry (VEN) | 55.19 | Ángela Mancilla (COL) | 55.40 |
| 800 metres | Marisela de Díaz (VEN) | 2:10.49 | Luz Villa (COL) | 2:11.26 | Virginia Davis (VEN) | 2:12.44 |
| 1500 metres | Marisela de Díaz (VEN) | 4:29.80 | Elida Rodríguez (VEN) | 4:34.87 | Nancy Chiliquinga (ECU) | 4:42.03 |
| 3000 metres | Marisela de Díaz (VEN) | 9:59.97 | Nancy Chiliquinga (ECU) | 10:02.59 | Mery Rojas (BOL) | 10:09.43 |
| 100 metres hurdles | Nancy Vallecilla (ECU) | 13.83 | Angie Marie Regis (VEN) | 14.10 | Ingrid Castillo (VEN) | 16.52 |
| 4 x 100 metres relay | Colombia P. Morales Martha Meléndez Ángela Mancilla Eucaris Caicedo | 45.8 | Peru María Bustios Carmela Bolívar Rocío Roca Brigitte Winter | 47.5 | | |
| 4 x 400 metres relay | Colombia Amparo Alba Martha Meléndez Ángela Mancilla Eucaris Caicedo | 3:44.38 | Venezuela Belkis Subero E. Guzmán E. Constanti Florencia Chilberry | 3:50.72 | Peru Brigitte Winter Sonia Galdos María Bustios Carmela Bolívar | 4:12.90 |
| High Jump | Iraima Parra (VEN) | 1.65 | Alix Castillo (VEN) | 1.55 | Miraida Piñango (VEN) | 1.50 |
| Long Jump | Nancy Guevara (VEN) | 6.00 | Sorelis Bohórquez (VEN) | 6.00 | Tania Sangronis (VEN) | 5.84 |
| Shot Put | Magdalena Gómez (COL) | 14.51 | María Isabel Urrutia (COL) | 13.34 | Patricia Guerrero (PER) | 13.20 |
| Discus Throw | María Isabel Urrutia (COL) | 42.76 | Yunaira Piña (VEN) | 42.64 | Selene Saldarriaga (COL) | 41.10 |
| Javelin Throw | Mariela Riera (VEN) | 48.94 | Patricia Guerrero (PER) | 47.78 | Yunaira Piña (VEN) | 47.12 |
| Heptathlon | Nancy Vallecilla (ECU) | 5375 | Alix Castillo (VEN) | 4749 | Ingrid Castillo (VEN) | 4626 |

## Medal table (unofficial)

* Host nation (Venezuela)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Venezuela (VEN)* | 20 | 18 | 18 | 56 |
| 2 | Colombia (COL) | 10 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| 3 | Panama (PAN) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | Ecuador (ECU) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Peru (PER) | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | Bolivia (BOL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 38 | 37 | 37 | 112 |